2019 Mercedes A-Class Sedan Has The Lowest Drag Of Any Production Vehicle

Mercedes has kept the record for the lowest drag of any production vehicle in-house, with the new A-Class Sedan taking the title from the outgoing CLA.

With a Cd value of 0.22 and a drag of less than 0.49 square meters, the new A-Class Sedan is the most slippery production car you’ll be able to buy, once Mercedes launches it at the end of 2018.

The German car maker has already revealed the L version of the A-Class Sedan, a China-only model that features a longer by 60mm wheelbase. Models that will be available in Europe and North America will share the same wheelbase with the hatchback version, at 2,729mm.

Mercedes was able to improve the old record by optimizing the new A-Class Sedan down to the smallest detail, using both computer-aided engineering and measurements in the wind tunnel.

The new A-Class Sedan also benefits from a significant reduction of the frontal area (2.19 square meters) and despite the improvement in interior dimensions, as well as an almost complete panelling of the underbody –including the engine bay, main floorpan, parts of the rear axle and the diffuser.

The new Mercedes A-Class Sedan will enter production at the company’s Aguascalientes factory in Mexico and at Rastatt, Germany. Mercedes claims it will offer class-leading rear headroom once it hits the market and offer one of the most impressive interiors among its rivals, thanks to the new MBUX infotainment system.

PHOTO GALLERY

Can we now put an end to the myth that strange looking hybrids and EV:s (looking at you, Prius, i3, Leaf, Volt…) must look like they do to keep the drag down?

Dude

That myth was already dead with the Ioniq and the new Insight

Marty

At least the Insight isn’t stranger than any other Honda, I’ll give you that 🙂
But the Ioniq is yet another hatch with an awkwardly high rear.

Hybrid or electric is just a drivetrain it should have no influence whatsoever on the look of the car!

S3XY

Nothing strange about my Batmobile Volt.

Broosewee

Is this coming to the USA?

driv3r

You can be pretty sure.

Leconte Dave

Yes but not the hatchback

Bo Hanan

Of the 3 German’s I think MB is the best at evolving design while keeping identy.

Doodz

I agree.

Ermal Morina

I honestly don’t know how they do it.
In the first glance you would never think that this is the car with the lowest drag of any car.
This is insane engineering

Jay D

This is a entry level sedan, thats nuts.MB always pushing the envelope

S3XY

A 2019 vehicle that is 100% dependent on gasoline is definitely “pushing the envelope”

Antonio Bošković

nice, looking forward to wagon version

ace_9

It is good, but not really that impressive. The 0.22 value will be reached only by certain efficiency oriented models and in fact A4 sedan has a coefficient 0.23, BMW 5 0.22 and there are more cars with similar values. And performance cars would crush the A class like nothing if they were not intentionally made to provide huge downforce. There is also not really much of a difference between let’s say 0.25 and 0.22 Cd below highway speeds and many manufacturers simply don’t bother to focus that much on it and they rather add some fancy design elements or they focus on providing downforce or cooling or for example optimal flow of air to deflect dirt and rain from rear window. The title of being the most aerodynamic from all production cars is something similar to having the biggest front indicator light. Nobody simply bothers to really focus on that area…

Marty

Yep. It’s not rocket surgery to reach a drag coefficient this low. But is not so easy to do it on a car this small. So the total drag is probably considerably lower than on for example Tesla S which has a low drag coefficient, but a huge area.

ace_9

Well, Tesla S has a drag coefficient 0.24. So it is not that far. But I think I get your point about bigger cars having more room for more aerodynamically shaped panels. And I like the comment about the “rocket surgery” 😀

My point is also that drag has two components: the drag coefficient (Cd) and the projected frontal area. So a larger car with the same Cd as a smaller car will always have more drag. It might be obvious, but is quite often overlooked when it comes to cars were we only look at Cd.

For example, a brand new Tesla S with a Cd of 0.24 has more wind resistance than a 30 year old Opel Calibra with a Cd of 0,29.

ace_9

You’re right. The drag force also depends on the frontal area. I knew that, but I also overlooked it until you mentioned it 🙂 So, yeah, the drag force is definitely quite low compared to other cars. But I wtill think if manufacturers would focus on it, they would be able to create much more streamlined cars. Some modern design elements are clear indications that they simply don’t care that much.